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Dubai UAE News

Dubai Chamber wins 2021 US Green Building Council Award

The Chamber was presented with the award during a virtual ceremony hosted by USGBC….reports Asian Lite News

Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently added another award to its list of achievements by winning the 2021 US Green Building Council (USGBC) Middle East Leadership Award.

The Chamber was presented with the award during a virtual ceremony hosted by USGBC. The award recognised the Chamber for its outstanding efforts in creating healthier and more sustainable buildings and communities.

Dubai Chamber’s headquarters is a prime example of one of the most efficient and environmentally friendly buildings in the Middle East. The Chamber has achieved LEED Platinum certification three times over the last 15 years, which is a testament to its commitment to environmental stewardship.

Hamad Buamim, President & CEO, Dubai Chamber, said, “Dubai Chamber is honoured to be named a 2021 USGBC Regional Leadership Award recipient by the US Green Building Council (USGBC). This achievement reaffirms the Chamber’s commitment towards sustainability and being a role model for the business community.”

He explained that the Chamber’s headquarters building is one of the first buildings in the region to certify under LEED EB O+M followed by LEED Platinum re-certification over the years. He also noted that the campus of the University of Dubai, an initiative of Dubai Chamber, achieved LEED Gold certification for New Construction and LEED Platinum certification for Existing Building Operations and Management following the completion of a solar project. The university is currently pursuing LEED Zero certification.

Buamim noted that the newly constructed Dubai Chamber extension building has been designed in line with LEED Building Design & Construction standards at the Platinum level. The Chamber is currently pursuing LEED ARC Parksmart accreditations. The building will use Solar PV systems and wind turbines to generate its power.

“Following a difficult year, it is truly inspiring to recognise our green building leaders that have continued their commitment to green building and sustainable communities while adapting to the changing environments around us,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, President and CEO, USGBC. “The 2021 USGBC Leadership Award awardees have improved our world through the power of green building and it is their contributions and work that have helped our communities stay safe and healthy.”

The 2021 USGBC Leadership Award recipients represent some of the best of USGBC’s 10,000 member organisations, a network of committed professionals with more than 106,000 LEED commercial projects in more than 180 countries and territories around the world. The efforts of the awardees stand out as exceptional examples of sustainability leadership among a strong and growing network of projects, companies and individuals.

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Business Dubai

Dubai businesses urged to provide Beneficial Owner data

The legal representatives of a registered business in Dubai can visit the eServices page of Dubai Economy or the outsourced service centres to furnish the Beneficial Owner data required….reports Asian Lite News

Dubai Economy has called on all business owners in the emirate to provide their Beneficial Owner data to be added in the commercial registry as required by the UAE Cabinet.

The legal representatives of a registered business in Dubai can visit the eServices page of Dubai Economy or the outsourced service centres to furnish the Beneficial Owner data required.

‘Beneficial Owner’ refers to those individuals/entities that benefit from owning a registered business. The Cabinet Decision No. (58) of 2020 requires all registered businesses in the UAE to reveal the identity and furnish details of their Beneficial Owner to be included in the commercial registry as part of enhancing corporate compliance in the country in line with international best practices.

The Beneficial Owner data required include name, gender, passport, nationality, residence address and email. All registered businesses in Dubai must register their Beneficial Owner data irrespective of their category (e.g. Commercial, Professional or Industrial) or legal form.

The customers can visit outsourced service centres of Dubai Economy and request to register the Beneficial Owner data upon which they will receive an electronic link to the procedure via text message. The customer can then click on the link and complete the procedure in a few simple steps. Alternatively, customers can log in to
https://ded.ae/service_details/en/beneficial_owner and then click on the Add / Modify the Beneficial Owner button. The customer will then be transferred to another screen to enter the Beneficial Owner data of the licence.

The deadline for registering the Beneficial Owner data is 15 June 2021.

Any customer performing a business registration and licensing transaction at Dubai Economy is automatically alerted on the Beneficial Owner data via text message before a payment voucher for the transaction is issued.

The customer can then click on the link provided in the text message and enter the Beneficial Owner data required. Business owners requesting Auto Renewal of their licences via text message to ‘6969’ also receive the link to the Beneficial Owner registration.

For enquiries and information on the Beneficial Owner registration, customers can email Dubai Economy on info@dubaided.gov.ae or call +971 4 445 5555.

ALSO READ: 19% surge in new license issuance in Dubai

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Dubai Travel UAE News

DXB is world’s busiest international airport in May

It kicked out London Heathrow from the top spot, with the UK airport plummeting to seventh place at capacity of 747,420…reports Asian Lite News

Dubai International Airport (DXB) has been named the world’s busiest international airport in May, as travelers gradually return to the skies.

The airport’s scheduled capacity was 1,895,866 in May, according to aviation intelligence firm OAG, despite many of its source markets being closed to international travelers.

It kicked out London Heathrow from the top spot, with the UK airport plummeting to seventh place at capacity of 747,420.

Two other regional airports dominated the list, with Istanbul Ataturk coming in second at around 1.3 million capacity, followed by Doha International Airport at 1.24 million.

The rankings are based on scheduled capacity compared to the same month in 2019, pre-pandemic.

Four Middle East air routes were the busiest in May, according to OAG data, three of which connect Cairo to Jeddah, Riyadh and Dubai.

Within Saudi Arabia, the Jeddah-Riyadh route was one of the busiest in May with 547,936 capacity.

Last year, DXB handled 25.9 million passengers, despite the Covid-19 pandemic wreaking havoc in the aviation industry, forcing airports to shut down and grounding airlines across the globe.

The travel restrictions and suspension of flights from certain countries also impacted airports and airlines.

The new variants of Covid-19 also continue to batter the sector with travel bans on passengers from the worst-hit countries.

But governments are increasingly reopening their borders with those countries that have largely vaccinated their citizens.

Data from the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority showed international passenger traffic reaching 7.61 million during the first four months of 2021, including 1.87 million during the month of April.

The numbers are significantly higher when compared with last year’s April figures of 39,794 passengers, when international flights from Dubai airports were suspended after the Covid-19 outbreak.

OAG data showed Turkey’s Istanbul International Airport emerged as the second busiest airport with 1.3 million seats, followed by Doha Airport at 1.22 million, and Amsterdam Airport at one million.

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Asia News Dubai UAE News

Cathay Pacific extends Dubai-Hong Kong services

Cathay-Pacific-Airways-has-launched-a-new-WhatsApp-chat-support-service

The first resumed flight was positively received by customers and airline bagged an overwhelming response for cargo with a full load on the flight…reports Asian Lite News

Hong Kong based Cathay Pacific announced the continuation of its recently relaunched flights between Dubai and its hub, Hong Kong, following its first flight which took off on 21 May 2021.

The weekly flight, operated by an Airbus A330-300, will continue to follow the same schedule as May, providing UAE residents and visitors with convenient connections to Hong Kong and onwards across Cathay Pacific’s network.

The first resumed flight was positively received by customers and airline bagged an overwhelming response for cargo with a full load on the flight.

“On announcing the resumption of our passenger services from Dubai, we received a favourable response from the passengers and trade partners,” said Vishnu Rajendran, Area Manager – Middle East, Cathay Pacific.

“Not only was it humbling to welcome back our guests as we took to the skies again, but also extremely encouraging as we look to scale up our global network operations,” he added.

In a further boost for travellers, Cathay Pacific has also launched a new WhatsApp chat support service to provide passengers with quick and convenient solutions to queries through the messaging app.

Customers in the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, can now use Cathay Pacific’s verified WhatsApp account to make new bookings, amend or upgrade existing bookings, seek assistance on baggage queries, redeem Asia Miles, and more – all via a single chat platform.

The chat support feature is available in English seven days a week from 08:00am to 08:00pm (GMT). Customers can use the service by messaging Cathay Pacific’s WhatsApp business number, +852 2747 2747, which can also be found on cathaypacific.com.

ALSO READ: 19% surge in new license issuance in Dubai

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Dubai UAE News

19% surge in new license issuance in Dubai

This highlights the resilience of the business environment of Dubai and the emirate’s economic competitiveness and ability to attract businesses to across various sectors…reports Asian Lite News

The Business Registration and Licencing (BRL) sector of Dubai Economy has issued 15,475 new licences during the first quarter of 2021, a growth of 19 percent compared to Q1 2020, when 13,027 licences were issued.

This highlights the resilience of the business environment of Dubai and the emirate’s economic competitiveness and ability to attract businesses to across various sectors.

Of the new licenses issued in Q1 2021, 58 percent were professional (8,935), followed by 41 percent commercial activities (6,290), and the rest distributed among the tourism and industrial activities.

In terms of distribution of the new licences according to location, Bur Dubai accounts for the largest share (8,220), followed by Deira (7,236), and Hatta (19). The top sub-regions were: Al Fahidi, Burj Khalifa, Al Khabaisi, Port Saeed, Trade Centre 1, Al Marar, Al Barsha 1, Naif, and Riggat Al Buteen.

During the first quarter of the year, 99,887 business registration and licencing transactions were completed, a growth of 8 percent compared to 92,325 in Q1 2020, demonstrating the vital role of Dubai Economy in delivering value-added services to the public in Dubai.

License Renewal accounted for 38,090 transactions during Q1 2021, a 4 percent growth compared to Q1 2020 (36,484). This underlines the benefits from the economic stimulus package launched by H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, which allows renewal of commercial licences without lease contract.

Auto Renewal via text messages during Q1 2021 accounted for 20,923, 16 percent growth compared to Q1 2020 (18,061). The number of Trade Name Reservation was 17,397, Initial Approvals reached 13,914, and the total number of Commercial Permits was 3,077.

Dubai Economy highlighted the importance of collaborative work by the government and private sectors. The private sector supports economic development by launching competitive and value-added projects under the wise leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

‘Invest in Dubai,’ the first integrated digital business set-up platform, simplifies the business journey without the need to visit service centres. The platform provides initial approval, reservation of a trade name, issuance of instant licences, Dubai SME licences, Intelaq licences, DED Trader licences, in addition to electronic Memorandum of Association, and the renewal of commercial licences.

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Dubai UAE News

Dubai real estate transactions hit AED92 bn

The bulletin revealed that the real estate sector in the emirate will continue to attract more real estate investors, thanks to its strong infrastructure and attractive investment opportunities…reports Asian Lite News

Dubai has registered 25,455 real estate transactions worth AED92 billion from January – April 2021, thus achieving an increase of 51 percent in terms of the number of transactions and 72 percent in terms of their value compared to the same period in 2020.

According to the real estate bulletin issued by Dubai Land Department (DLD) under the name ‘Real Estate Updates,’ the real estate sector showed robustness and an ability to adapt to various circumstances and developments.

The bulletin revealed that the real estate sector in the emirate will continue to attract more real estate investors, thanks to its strong infrastructure and attractive investment opportunities. 8,749 new investors entered the market from January – April 2021, representing 65 percent of the total number of real estate investors registered in that period, with a growth of 54 percent compared to the same period in 2020.

The bulletin also showed that the total value of real estate investments during the aforementioned period reached AED36 billion, an increase of 44 percent compared to the same period in 2020. This confirms the continued flow of real estate investments since the beginning of the year at a high rate, which also strengthens the trust of local and international investors alike.

187,949 Ejari contracts were recorded in January – April 2021, 58 percent of which were new contracts and 42 percent were renewed contracts.

The bulletin highlighted the top five areas for investor attractiveness. In villa sales, Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid topped the list in April 2021, followed by Palm Jumeirah, Wadi Al Safa 5, Wadi Al Safa 7, and Al Yelayiss 2. In apartment sales, Dubai Marina, Burj Khalifa, Palm Jumeirah, Business Bay, and Al Thanyah Fifth topped the list in April 2021.

It is expected that the real estate sector will witness increased growth and a greater recovery in the coming period following the permission of Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management to submit electronic permit applications for business activities of all kinds, in addition to the fast-approaching date of Expo 2020, which in turn will attract tourists and visitors from around the world and will constitute a great opportunity for the real estate sector to strengthen its position regionally and globally.

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Dubai Travel & Tourism UAE News

Dubai hotels to comply with sustainability requirements

Dubai hotels to comply with sustainability requirements

Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the deadline was extended for an additional 12 month, a decision that Dubai Tourism took to strengthen the foundations for recovery of the hospitality sector…reports Puja Gupta

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) mandates that all hotels comply with the Sustainability Requirements for Hotel Establishments by the deadline of July 1, 2021, as set by Dubai Sustainable Tourism (DST), an initiative to further enhance Dubai’s position as one of the world’s leading sustainable tourism destinations.

Under the directive, hotels must also resume monthly submission of carbon emission drivers. The system has the long-term objective of advancing sustainability performance across the sector. Back in 2019 Dubai Tourism led by DST trained 528 hotels on the implementation of these sustainability standards and currently inviting hotels for a refresher webinar ahead of July 2021.

Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the deadline was extended for an additional 12 month, a decision that Dubai Tourism took to strengthen the foundations for recovery of the hospitality sector. The progress on implementation of the mandatory standards will be tracked by hotels and audited by DST.

Yousuf Lootah, Vice Chairman of Dubai Sustainable Tourism, said: “Over the past year, the strength of the city’s tourism industry is reflected in the safe and successful reopening of Dubai to domestic and international visitors. In alignment with the city’s wider carbon reduction strategy, we know that tourism can also be an area where Dubai truly sets the benchmark at a global level with forward-thinking sustainability and corporate social responsibility practices. We strongly encourage hotels to comply with the 19 Sustainability Requirements set by Dubai Tourism and provide Carbon Calculator submissions by 1 July. We know that with the ongoing support of the relevant government bodies these hotel establishments can play a huge part in achieving the overall carbon emission reduction target over the next year and beyond.”

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The 19 Sustainability Requirements include sustainable management approaches, performance metrics, energy, food and water management plans, guest education, employee training initiatives, the presence of sustainability committees within hotel establishments and corporate social responsibility programmes for local communities. Through improving internal sustainability operations, hotel establishments in turn will enhance the competitiveness of Dubai’s tourism-linked economy. These requirements support Dubai’s Carbon Abatement Strategy 2021 target to reduce the carbon emissions by 16 percent by 2021, overall.

Since its inception in January 2017, the Carbon Calculator � part of the Tourism Dirham Platform, is a tool that has been measuring the carbon footprint within Dubai’s hospitality sector. On a monthly basis, hotels submit their consumption of 11 carbon emission sources, including: electricity, district cooling, water, waste, fuel for transportation, fuel for generators, fire extinguishers, and liquefied petroleum gas for analysis. This information is aggregated and analysed to provide valuable industry insights on the sector’s collective carbon footprint. In addition, by formulating a baseline along with consistent tracking, this information enables hotels to understand their energy, water and waste consumption and further identify successful cost-saving opportunities.

DST will be hosting virtual information sessions for all hotels between May 23 � 27 , 2021 on the Sustainability Requirements.

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-Top News UAE News

UAE finance minister passes away

UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed ordered that flags be flown at half-mast across the country until Saturday to mark three days of mourning…reports Asian Lite News

United Arab Emirates’ Finance Minister and deputy ruler of Dubai, Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has died on Wednesday, the Dubai media office said.

He was the brother of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Prime Minister and ruler of the emirate of Dubai. Hamdan, who was 75 years old, had been finance minister since 1971, when the country was founded.

UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed ordered that flags be flown at half-mast across the country until Saturday to mark three days of mourning, according to a statement by the official news agency WAM, DPA news reported.

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Meanwhile, Dubai announced a 10-day mourning period.

Funeral prayers will be restricted to family members due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Dubai media office added.

Hamdan had been unwell, his brother Mohammed wrote on Twitter earlier this month, wishing him well.

He underwent surgery abroad last year, though further details were not disclosed.

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